This intellectual community supports artists, scholars, and researchers—independently and in cross-disciplinary collaborations—as they unearth the past, explain and engage the present, and invent the future.

You are here

Humanities for the Public Good Advisory Committee

What is the purpose of the Humanities for the Public Good Advisory Committee?

The Advisory Committee will serve as a humanities lab, actively and collaboratively developing a cross-disciplinary humanities Ph.D. The committee will work with Obermann Director Teresa Mangum and a small advisory board, conduct research into diverse career initiatives at other universities, weave experiential learning opportunities into humanities graduate education, envision possible structures and partnerships for cross-disciplinary humanities collaborations, and consult with UI alumni and graduates of PhD programs to learn from their career paths. The Advisory Committee will also provide feedback for plans and proposals each year. Applications are due February 19, 2019. (See details below to apply.)

What will participation entail?

The first Advisory Committee members will meet bi-weekly from August 2019-May 2020, and the second group will meet bi-weekly from August 2020-My 2021. In addition, we will ask the first group to meet a few times in spring semester of 2019 to map out plans for the fall, and we will ask the second group to join the first group several times in spring 2020 to create a smooth transition going into the second year. Members from year one may reapply for year two. In addition to these regularly scheduled meetings during the academic year, we will begin each semester by collectively setting semester and long-term goals and end each semester with a review of progress made, discoveries, and reflections on progress and next steps. The Advisory Committee has funding to invite alumni and potential employers for Skype interviews and/or visits to campus.

Who can apply?

We hope to include instructional and tenure track faculty members, graduate students, and staff and administrative members from the Library, the Graduate College, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and other units who play important roles in humanities graduate education. We also welcome nominations by department chairs, directors of graduate studies, and supervisors if you know faculty, graduate students, or staff members who would bring valuable experience and knowledge to our planning process. Simply send a brief email to Obermann Director Teresa Mangum (teresa-mangum@uiowa.edu) explaining in a few sentences what the nominee could contribute. We will contact all nominees and invite them to apply.

Stipend

Thanks to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, we can provide a $3,000 stipend or research/travel award per person for up to 20 faculty, staff, and graduate students during each of the two years the Advisory Committee meets. At the first meeting, we will decide together what kind of accountability we collectively expect in return. Note: Acknowledging the challenges of cross-sectoral collaboration, in this context we define “faculty” as instructional and tenure track faculty members who work actively and routinely with graduate students. Recognizing the variety of workplace time constraints and payment rules that may affect funding for staff members and graduate students with assistantships, we commit to working with qualifying participants to find equitable options whenever possible, but we strongly encourage you to consult with your supervisor before applying. Supervisors will have the final word on whether a) individuals can participate on the committee, if selected, and b) individuals can receive stipends.